[As you may know,
Parama-pujyapada Srila Narayana Maharaja gave a series of twenty
nine classes on Sri Brhat-bhagavatamrta. Ten classes were sent out
to you in chronological order. This is number eleven, and eighteen
remain to be sent out. We apologize for not being able to send them
in a row. In between we send other classes. This is simply because
we are fallen souls and cant keep up with the flood of nectar
coming from all sides. That is, this Brhat-bhagavatamrta series ,
the Navadvipa-Vrndavana Parikrama series, the Vintage-class
series, the regular classes series, the remainder of the Western
Tour series and so on. They all seem to be demanding to be published
first. "Please publish me first." "No, publish me first." We can
only send out one class about every three days, so we simply cant
keep up. Please excuse us.]

[A summary of the
Brhat-bhagavatamrta class series thus far is that Sri Narada Muni
has gone to Dvaraka, via the celestial skyways, in his search to
establish the glory of the greatest recipients of Lord Krsna's
mercy  the gopis of Vrndavana. There in Dvaraka, he instigated a
discussion between Krsna's associates, and in the course of the
discussion there was a consideration of the possibility of Krsna
returning to Vrndavana. The following is a continuation of that
discussion:]

Baladeva Prabhu has been hearing
the conclusions of Rohini Maiya  who had been describing the
separation of the cows in Sri Vrndavana.

Baladeva
Prabhu added, "What to speak of the cows in Vrndavana; due to
separation from Krsna, even the deer, does, cuckoos, birds,
beasts, trees in Bhandiravana and elsewhere, creepers and blades of
grass have all become completely dried up.

"Day
by day, all the mountains, such as Sri Giriraja Govardhana, become
increasingly lean due to their grief in separation, and gradually
they are disappearing into the ground. Giriraja Govardhana was
more than one mile high, and now it is entering into the ground and
disappearing."

"This is the condition of the
Vrajavasis since Krsna went to Mathura and then Dvaraka. If the
trees, creepers, animals and mountains are in this condition, what
will be the condition of the gopis of Vrndavana? Even the river
Yamuna has dried up. Now it has become like a thin stream. In
Krsna's absence the peacocks no longer dance and the bumblebees no
longer take honey from the flowers."

Baladeva
Prabhu then told Sri Krsna, "For the sake of the Vrajavasis, gopas
and gopis, You must return to Vrndavana. The only reason they
remain alive is that they remember your promise and think, 'Krsna is
satyasankalpa; He always speaks the truth. So He will certainly
return.' Only with this hope do they stay alive  just about stay
alive. "But for how long can they remain alive? If You don't go at
once to Vrndavana and give mercy to the Vrajavasis, Yamaraja will
give his mercy  which means that they must give up their lives.
Krsna, You must return to Vrndavana. Automatically, by meeting
with You, the Vrajavasis' grief of separation will go away. There
is no other way.

"The poison of Kaliya was so strong
that it killed all the birds, and many of the Vrajavasis became
unconscious. You delivered them from this, so won't You deliver
them from this present pain of separation? They cannot give up
their life by jumping from Giriraja Govardhana, because Govardhana
has become too small. The Vrajavasis stay alive by uttering Your name
 even in a negative way, by making statements like, 'Krsna is so
cruel.' They are always absorbed in krsna-katha." This means that
discussions about Krsna and His name are amrita (nectar) and makes
one immortal (amrita).

["The nectar of Your words and the
descriptions of Your activities are the life and soul of those
suffering in this material world. These narrations, transmitted by
learned sages, eradicate one's sinful reactions and bestow good
fortune upon whoever hears them. These narrations are broadcast
all over the world and are filled with spiritual power. Certainly
those who spread the message of Godhead are most munificent."
(Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.31.9)]

Sri Baladeva
continued, "All the Vrajavasis have given up eating, drinking and
speaking with their family members or anyone else. They only call
out the name, "Krsna! Krsna! Oh Krsna, when will You come back to
Vrndavana?"

Hearing this, Lord Sri Krsna felt
intense pain  because His heart is softer than butter and He
cannot tolerate the pain of others. He cried loudly and He kept
His arms around the neck of Baladeva Prabhu, embracing him. Tears
flowed from His eyes like the flow of Ganga and Yamuna. He began
to roll on the ground, fainted and became unconscious.

Rohini-maiya, Devaki, Rukmini, Satyabhama and all the
ladies in the innermost chamber of the palace, and all the male
members present, could not keep their patience for another moment.
They all broke down crying and felt so much pain of separation
that there was nobody left to console them.

At
that time, from Bramhaloka, Catur-mukha (four faced) Lord Brahma
saw what was going on. He therefore came along with his
associates, various Vedas in the form of demigods, and arrived in
Dvaraka.

Now, seeing the condition of Sri Krsna,
Brahmaji became bewildered and was about to weep. He thought, "By
the influence of maya, Lord Krsnas illusory energy, anyone may
become bewildered; but how can Krsna Himself become bewildered?"
He wondered, "What is Krsna's inner desire?" He then understood
that Lord Krsna wanted to show the entire universe the greatest
recipients of His mercy. The gopis, and among them Srimati Radhika,
are the greatest recipients.

Brahma saw that all
had fainted. Garuda was weeping and also about to faint. Brahma
addressed Garuda and said, "O carrier of Lord Krsna, please come
here. He consoled Garuda and said, "Please take Sri Krsna and Sri
Baladeva on your back, and bring Them in the midst of the ocean where
there is a mountain named Raivata." Garuda is not an ordinary
bird. He is able to do anything and everything.

"By the desire of Lord Krsna and myself, Visvakarma (the demigod
architect) made New Vrndavana. If one stands in the middle of
this place, he will see it as Vrndavana. If he moves to the
outskirts, however, he will understand that it is not. While
standing in the center one cannot understand whether he is in
Vrndavana or another place."

Visvakarma made murtis
(worshipable statues) of Nanda Baba and Mother Yasoda. They were
extremely attractive and looked like they were moving
and
about to talk. In this world a murti simply stands and does not
speak, but those made by Visvakarma seemed as though they were
just about to talk. He also made many cows, calves and green grasses.
It seemed as though the cows were grazing. Brahma thus told Garuda
to take Sri Krsna and Sri Balarama, and put them in the midst of
the Raivata Mountain.

Receiving the order from
Lord Brahma, Garuda gently placed Krsna and Baladeva on his back
and carried them to Raivata Mountain. From there he flew into
the sky and situated himself there so that he could see their next
pastimes  and no one could see him.

Narada
thought, "I am the root of all these problems. All these
calamitous events are due to me. So what should I do now?" He
therefore also went there and situated himself in a place where he
could see upcoming pastimes. Brahmaji ordered that no one else
could go except for Mother Rohini.

There, Krsna
could not understand whether He was in Vrndavana or anywhere else.
He also could not distinguish if the murtis were original or
murtis.

While watching the pastimes from the sky
Garuda shielded the brothers and their associated from the strong
sun and heat by his large wings. In the meantime Brahmaji very
skilfully sent Vasudeva and Devaki back to their own homes,
because as parents they are not allowed to see the pastimes of
Krsna with the gopis.

Uddhava positioned Padmavati,
Satyabhama, Rukmini and others at a distance behind a bush, so
they could witness the pastimes but so that Krsna would not be
able to see them. Otherwise, their presence would disturb the
pastime.

Gradually, Lord Baladeva became conscious
and realized Brahma's desire and plan. He took some water and
cleaned Krsna's face and body. Krsna was weeping bitterly and
lamenting so much that His tears glided down from His eyes to his
chest. Due to the tears mixing with dust from the earth, some
muddy spots appeared on His body, and Baladeva Prabhu removed them.
He dressed Krsna the way He used to dress when He was in Vraja. He
put a peacock feather on His head, a flute and buffalo horn in His
waist belt, and srngara under his armpit.

He
embraced him and said, "O my dear brother, wake up. Mother Yasoda
and Nanda Baba are thinking, 'Why is my son sleeping so much? Not
only that, look! All the gopis are walking towards you. Everyone is
whispering and wondering, "Why is He sleeping so long? Don't
delay. Please get up, please get up or they will joke about you."

Sri Krsna became somewhat conscious. He opened His
eyes, yawned and stretched His body, chanting, "Siva, Siva, Siva -
May everything be auspicious." He previously did that in Vraja.
Seeing Nanda Baba, He offered pranama with folded palms, and He
became ashamed.

Then He saw Mother Yasoda standing
close by. In Vraja, whenever He would come home late, Mother
Yasoda would be standing in the same position as now. He noticed
that there was some butter in His mothers hand, just as she used
to have in Vraja. He smiled and posed for her in a dancing
position, just as He would do in Vraja. He took the butter from her
and said, "O Mother, I came so late. I had many dreams  I dreamed
that I gave up Vraja and went to Mathura, and then to Dvaraka;
and I married 16,108 queens. Each queen had 10 sons and one
daughter. Now it is late. When I come back I will give you the
details, so don't worry." Krsna held the butter in His hand but
didn't eat it, because He could not eat it without first offering
it to Baladeva Prabhu. Nowadays there is no such affection between
brothers. Nowadays brothers quarrel with each other, but Krsna and
Baladeva did not quarrel.

About Purebhakti

We publish in written and audio form the transcendental sound vibrations that have eminated from self realized Spiritual Masters in the line of Sri Krsna and in recent times, His manifestation as Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu (1482 AD).